The Enablist

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

NewsClickIn: Persons with Disabilities are outraged at the Union Budget 2018 as it excludes and side-lines Persons with Disability. Having signed the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disability in 2007, India, under BJP government finally passed the Rights of Persons with Disability Bill in December 2016. Yet consecutive budgets have failed to allocate funds for the Act to be implemented and realized.

Disability rights activist Dr Satendra Singh said some specific reasonable concessions were needed to help such people. "There is no point of getting a separate certificate for T1DM under the disability category as this will open a Pandora's box as these people will demand benefits under the disability act."

As the Supreme Court gears up to rule on the constitutionality of Aadhaar this week, a two-part series examines the nagging bugs the UIDAI hasn’t yet fixed. Read the full report b Geetanjali Krishna on Business Standard website here.

We disabled persons and their representative organisations are aghast at the deplorable manner in which a decorated soldier like you conducted himself on a TV show.

While you were participating in a discussion on a news channel, consequent to the Supreme Court order of January 9 disposing off a petition in the matter of our national anthem, you sought to cast aspersions on, or rather doubt the patriotism of a disabled person, Arman Ali, who is a wheelchair user and a disability rights activist. You not only made a brutish attempt to shout him down but also asked him whether he can prove his patriotism by keeping his hand on his heart while the anthem is played. We are clueless of who has prescribed this new form of display of one’s patriotism and love for the nation? Sadly, you were not even willing to listen to his point of view.

With all respect to the army/military, serving and ex-soldiers, their courage, valour, sacrifice and service, such uncalled for shouting against and humiliation of a disabled person cannot be tolerated, least of all from a person who had acquired such a high position in the army. Such contempt for a fellow citizen from an ex-soldier unfortunately shatters our faith in the very institution you were part of.

You would be informed that the Supreme Court while modifying its earlier order and not making the playing of the national anthem at cinema halls before the commencement of a movie mandatory has held that its order granting exemption to certain categories of disabled persons from standing up/being attentive while the national anthem is being played, stays.

This intentional shaming of a disabled person, you will appreciate, is a violation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Section 92 says:

Whoever -

“intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a person with disability in any place within public view …. Shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years with fine.”

Given the fact that there are many misgivings/misconceptions surrounding disability it would be in the fitness of things if you would be receptive to the idea of being sensitised on the diversity of disability. There are things that a person with a certain kind of disability would be able to do perform while another with the same disability or a different disability would not be able to perform. This doesn’t arise because of the lack of any desire to perform any given act, let alone insult.

We strongly feel that the least that should be forthcoming from you is an apology.

Sunday, January 14, 2018

If accessibility was the main theme in #InsensitiveRailways part-I, there lack of competency will be clearly visible in this post. My railway ticket was booked on counter by showing both Railway Concession certificate and e-concession card. Despite that we were allotted middle and upper berths as shown below.

I highlighted these by multiple tweets to both handles of Railway Minister. This was carried by Times of India as well as Sandhya Times despite all these my upper and middle berth was not changed. We have heard many stories of provision of hot milk during journey by a single tweet etc and it seems all of these were fake stories to generate PR. Here is the reality.

Where is the PM’s #AccessibleIndiaCampaign? Who did the access audits & when? If we can’t make Capital of India accessible what about rural areas where 69.9% of disabled live? Should I take pride in bullet train or hang my head in shame? #Disability#UNCRPD#RPwDAct

For the same reason, I filed RTI 2 months ago to know no. of elevators & escalators in all 6 Delhi Rly Statns. CPIO didn’t reply in 1 month so had to file 1st Appeal. Escalators are NOT means of egress for disabled yet Rly Minister @PiyushGoyal keeps ordering more

Moreover why only wheelchair users are dangerously carried over open-tracks, why not non-disabled? Surely, an escalator for nondisabled is costly than an elevator for ALL (disabled & nondisabled). #InsensitiveRailways